The 4 legged mutant was running extremely fast heading toward the light that Brandon was shining to him. Brandon grabbed his hunting revolver and prepared for a fire fight. Still the raiders looked strange he had never seen such raiders before, still raiders were raiders all of them violent scum. They were firing their guns at the mutant wasting ammo, Brandon looked at his revolver the gun only held 5 shots better make them count. The mutant seemed to run very well until he crashed into the large rock, he fell on the ground and continued running circles. The raiders stopped and one of them yelled."Heads! Dismount!"

They all got out and walked toward the mutant. Brandon cursed softly, he ran out of cover, it seemed like there were 4 raiders he had 5 bullets so he should be able to make it. Brandon stopped and before the raiders noticed him he fired his gun, the bullet ripped open the skull of one of the raiders who was holding an hunting rifle. The raiders either looked at their comrade or at the direction of the sound, either way before they could react Brandon fired another bullet. The bullet hit one of the man between his eyes, blood spew from the wound as the raider hit the ground.

One of the raiders had aimed at Brandon at this point and fired. He was holding an 10 mm pistol and the bullet hit Brandon in his chest, penetrating his armor and stopping before it could hit anything major. Brandon quickly fired an bullet back, the men fell to the ground before being able to fire of another one. Brandon aimed at the last one only to see that Rex had taken care of him. Brandon sighed relived at he grabbed an stinpack, he used it and healed his wound. Brandon smiled at Rex and he walked over to the mutant. He looked at the mutant and he stretched out his hand to help him up. "Do you need a hand?"

Rex launched at one and wuffed in the man's ear. The man turned and swung at Rex, missing by a mile. Rex responded by stealing the man's trachea.

Rex hated the taste of men, especially the dirty ones, so he never ate the bodies. Besides, all he did was steal one measly part of them. How did that kill them? Rex figured they just fell unconscious. They didn't breathe because... well, Rex had their trachea, right? Can't breathe without that.

Brandon had shot the other men and was now talking to the mutant. Rex quickly started pulling the food, water and meds the raiders had on them into a pile for Brandon to collect later.

Thoughts left him. Nobility, cowardice, pride all drained away like the blood in his cold face, leaving only the simplest urges of self preservation. In one last act of mercy he threw his ACP into the dirt but the dorm rooms, maybe the family would find it helpful in a pinch if there were reinforcements showing up before they could get away. Who knows but right now he made his way towards the gate zigging and zagging as sporadically as he could to try and avoid the inevitable sniper shot that would end him. Seeing red mist as he stepped through the gate, terrible pain erupted from his shoulder and chest. Not lethal? No but serious.The blood loss might slow him later but the wound itself wouldn't interrupt his dogged run. Arm flailing uselessly behind him like some kind of macabre scarf he managed to keep up a break neck pace, his shirt becoming a canvas of blood and sweat until he finally reached the Ohney. Reaching the shadow of the broken building his muscles stretched and cooled relaxing in what Sully had to convince himself was momentary safety. The broken walls and shattered roof tops weren't going to provide any cover from the chameleon beetle. He needed to find somewhere in this place where he could conceivably hide long enough for that psychopath to give up. Walking through the town he strained his ears waiting for the crunch of weighty invisible feet to come crunching through the gravel surrounding the down. Instead he could swear he heard slight growls and heavy breathing. Suddenly his feet failed to find purchase, with a creak and swish a grate cracked open sending him sprawling into the darkness below.

Barry looked at the towering orange highlighted man. "FalloutBob? Cool name. Got to say that claymore is a nice touch. Somewhat dangerous, but pretty darn cool all the same," Flash said happily. He looked back to number one and said, "I will find a way to explain to the Wastes that the Enclave are the last stand of GOOD against the EVIL found nearly everywhere in the harsh wastes!....Also a supermutant with tendrils? Thats an amazing adversary! I got to help defeat that thing! Purify the wastes of evil and all that." He then quickly punched the air like it was a speed bag before doing right hooks for a few seconds as if to prove that him going was a good idea. A thought suddenly entered his mind, "Huh, I wonder how tough a supermutant with tendrils would be? Fought mutants a several times, but it was pretty tough and thats back when I had my concussive armband thing. "And, umm, My former weapon kind of spontaneously combusted. Do you got any unarmed weapons I could use? Would be helpful to my mission"

"Bound?" Marlon was not exactly pleased. "Look, I can appreciate that there's a fair amount of mistrust bouncing around here but that goes both ways. Taking all my things and tying me up sounds more like a prelude to an execution than negociation."

He smiled. "Look, I'll meet you halfway. Here's my counter-proposal. I don't trust you, you don't trust me, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit iffy 'bout the idea of giving you all my stuff and letting you tie me up. Well all trust Sheriff Simms though right? Well, if you're going to leave a token defence force here in the meantime, I don't see why I can't leave my stock in his custody. You'll have your guards out front and Simms can be trusted to keep em locked down. That's part 1."

"Part two? That's simple. I go with you to meet your boss, as requested. But none of that bound stuff yeah? I mean come on, I'm not a prisoner and the only criminal associations you could pin on me are my siblings out west. Hell. I could drive myself there. You want to make sure I don't scarper, you can ride along." He paused to look at Frank briefly before he returned his attention to Danielle. "Cept for your not-really-Brotherhood brother there. He's already done enough damage to my car trying to pick a fight. I won't travel with him."

He shrugged. "I can't do much better than that for compromise. I'm trying to play by your rules 'round these parts, so you can cut me a little slack right? 'sides, I really doubt I could take all of you anyway. So does that sound fair to you?"

"Bound?" Marlon was not exactly pleased. "Look, I can appreciate that there's a fair amount of mistrust bouncing around here but that goes both ways. Taking all my things and tying me up sounds more like a prelude to an execution than negotiation.""Sir, if we wanted to execute you..."Frank quickly moved away from the car, as Danielle didn't like not getting her way, and was prone to very extreme examples of why you should listen to her.A hail of energy destroyed a nearby giant ant."...We would have done it already."Frank was surprised she did not make her example using the car. It seemed she had calmed down since being promoted to Star Paladin after Cross retired."Your suggestion regarding letting Simms handle your stock is agreeable enough."Frank knew where this was going; Danielle only relented when she was going to ask for something really extreme."You are a member of a hostile organization. If you refuse to be bound, then you will have to be stripped down to your underwear to ensure you do not smuggle any weapons in. Since not wearing armor on a trip through the wastes is a very poor choice, we recommend submitting to being bound, and letting us drive you there. Were we a bit more savage we would employ explosive collars.""You don't have to worry about me coming along anyways, I just want you removed from Megaton."Frank had wished Danielle had simply had Moe smack the car away with his super sledge, then vaporized it, like she would have before he left.

Two days out from the Commons, no particular direction, we're safer the further we are away from civilisation, apparently; there may be more raiders, bounty hunters and bastards than there are reasonable folk, but we've stayed hidden during daylight, and travelled only in the thick dark. As such, it is difficult to place our location, we've been triangulating our course by twilight and following at only a careful pace.

I slept well that night, probably due to exhaustion - our supplies are running out, but like fools we gorged on the last of them - it was welcome.

Abe refuses to leave the side of the seabeast, although it'd be folly to suggest that this is out of benevolence, what Abe actually wants from 'the fishy' continues to elude even my imagination; I still believe that the creature lies about it's medical knowledge to preserve its own life, not that I judge it harshly for such, here where one must lie routinely to stay alive.

As for the Walrus himself, his glances at the hobbling figure behind him seem to show both fear and pity; but this is down to conjecture, really, and I'm hardly in a state to make any assumptions. This continuing, however, seems unlikely, following this morning's...events.

I awoke in the regular fashion, but what I came upon was unexpected, to say the least. I found Abe straddling the Walrus; resting his lame leg on the creature's stomach, the other anchored on the ground, his crutch lay discarded. I couldn't see his face, but his intentions were hardly open to interpretation; in his right hand, he gripped a clean steel bowie knife, with a cruel serrated edge. This he held to the Walrus' throat. Both were quiet in the clinch; I didn't understand it at the time, a beast of that size could easily have overpowered an old cripple, evidently it chose not to.

Finally, one spoke, "Now, Fishy. Abe knows you know sum'n. I knows you knows you did sum'n. I don't like it when folk keep secrets. Abe don't let folk pull the wool over he eyes." Abe intoned his words in his usual manner, there wasn't any anger there, at least I couldn't hear it. Made it somewhat more unsettling.

The Walrus dared not to quake or shiver, lest Abe interpret his movements in an unfavourable way, "you...you don't understand! I'm a doctor, I..."

It's speech faltered, evidently Abe was applying some pressure. I approached carefully, but this seemed futile, surely Abe knew that I was behind him, maybe he knew I had no intention of harming him; after all I had no more allegiance to the Walrus than to him. Still, I pressed the same question on the prostrate beast.

"What happened?""I...I'm a doctor. It was only natural for me. Last night...I...I...did what I could. I operated..."Abe tightened his clinch on the Doctor. Once again, my instinct caused me to act as mediator.

Dudley leaned forward, putting his head in his gloved hand in thought. William had some good ideas, and they both knew they'd have to be extremely careful. The Enclave wouldn't be merciful if they were ever on the wrong end of one of their laser weapons. He shook his head at the choice to just follow them back. "Nah, that won''t work. I ain't th' sneakiest type here, ya know? ...But I do got a buddy in th' Brotherhood, that might help." He then offered a few suggestions of his own.

"Well, we gotta few choices here. If ya wanna join them, that'd probably be th' easiest way'ta get to their base. But as ya said, it'd be hard'ta get some info..."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling, then back over to William. "Option two: If you're good at sneakin', I can get ya a few Stealth Boys an' get th' guards at front distracted somehow, maybe pretend'ta be a salesman or somethin'."

Then he looked over to the doorway and saw a few of the merchants walk through the halls. "Option three: We can try an' get our hands on some armor of theirs an' bullshit our way around th' place. Might not work if ya don't have th' speech skills though."

Then a grin came across his face and he patted his minigun. "Option four may not be th' smartest, but it'd be th' most direct." The look in his eyes made it obvious what he meant, but he chuckled to show he didn't really mean it. "That'd pretty much be suicide though..."

He looked over to his new accomplice and shrugged. "Any of those float your boat?"

"Option one.... nope, option two might work, though I think you might want to work on your sales patter. Option three sounds ok, I know how to talk my way around a problem." William smiled before finishing with "I'm not even going to consider option four."

"Your brotherhood friend, he could get us the location of the base. I'm not the most stealthy but with the help of a few stealth boys I could be in with a chance of getting inside."

William looked back at Dudley, sizing up his credibility as a trader, big man. Powerful and maybe a bit crazy: weapons dealer. Dudley could pose as an energy weapons dealer selling his stash and giving information on locations where more energy weapons could be scavenged. They could let him in to update their maps which would distract the guards at the door long enough for William to get in.

He had got into Fort Independence at Blooms insistence before, if only to provide information on the Brotherhood Outcasts strength. If he could get into one heavily defended base, why couldn't he do so again?

William explained all of this to Dudley and recommended they make for the Citadel, getting the location of the Enclave base would be important. But if they could give Dudley some of their broken weapons then he might be able to pass them off as the real thing, making him more plausible.

After the Heads were killed and...stolen from?...Brandon helped up the strange STRANGE mutant, who had answered him with a "Soitenly!" when offered the help. Yes, the mutant actually sounded like Curly Howard. Mutations could sometimes be very VERY weird sometimes.

"You guys know where the other mutants are at? I gotta tell those guys about this! He's a genius, I tell ya, a regular smarty-pants!

Speaking of pants, yours don't fit anymore, do they?

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Morgan: I would advise against the fouth plan, personally. Two men against an army only works in the movies.

There was a knock at the door from a guard, indicating that it was a visitor and that said visitor was safe. Morgan got up to open the door to find a man with his guard in a nice pre-war suit, Caucasian with the usual wasteland suntanning, also a moustache.

Morgan: Mr. Emerson Estabahn, I presume. I understand you've been wanting to gain my attention about your rather-lucrative new business venture.

Emerson: Correct, Mr. Bloom. Do you have the time to speak or...?

Morgan: I'm in a meeting right this moment. Do make a regular appointment and we can discuss the situation involving the Nuka-Cola product. I do hope the rumors I've heard are untrue.

Emerson: It's not nearly as serious as they say. Just bad press. So, if you'll excuse me then...

(Morgan returned to his seat, sending Mr. Emerson off.)

Morgan: He restored the Nuka Cola Factory and things have been rocky for him the whole time. I sympathize with the man, but it seems like more than the whole 'piss turning blue' thing going on.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yyyup, that boy Sully broke into a helluva run to get out of this situation, hoping to give FalloutDavid the slip. Surprised by this, David discloaked and stared. According to his reference map, the place south of here was overrun by Deathclaws... Indeed, that was the case later as he found out from giving Sully the chase. Deathclaws began to leap down from other parts of buildings and in from around corners. Sully, if he was conscious right now, would hear PlasmUzi fire and Deathclaw roars, but fortunately his impromptu fall had been missed! Looks like Davey-boy was going to be busy for a while. He hadn't seen where Sully had gone and apparently he was now...pre-occupied.

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Indeedo, it was the case of an epic Bobness in a hovercraft. Number One explained the situation and left it in Bob's hands for now. He was quite the character, FalloutBob. Yes, he had this crazy two-handed sword and what a beaut! Only thing is that sometimes he called it a claymore and sometimes he called it a zweihander...and anyone trying to correct him got a punch in the face. While Barry is going on about stuff, let's give you all an explanation on the guy:

After listening to Flash's little problem about the weapons, he opened up a glove compartment after he got in and handed him...Pro-Fists. Not bro-fists, not power fists, but Pro-fists. What are they? Toughened Power Fists outfitted for BOTH HANDS. Afterwhich, Bob shut the hovercrafts cockpit area and started driving it...fast. The thing used thrusters to get a'going.

Bob: You know, you're much too tense. You're a young man, you need to relax, learn to take some joy in your work. You like music?

Bob now pressed a button while driving and some highly-appropriate music played as they zoomed across the Kentucky wasteland to an area far north of Megaton...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Meanwhile, back at the base...

"Release the MGB."

So, you remember that crumbly building, the one that had been seen breaking apart by the Heads who very soon after died horribly? The building suddenly got up and started walking away with a pair of large mechanical feet. ...THE FUCK?! Yeah, something was under there...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

But back with Barry and Bob, it was GO-TIME! They had come into the area to find half-humanoid mutant easily five times its normal size crawling around on a bunch of squid tentacles. As they stopped, Bob hit a couple of buttons on the console to open up the cockpit and operate...driver ejection?! YES, Bob launched himself out of the vehicle, over the weird monster to descend upon it with his sword!

Bob: BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL...

Fallout...

...BOB!!!!

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With all the moving around of glow-in-the-dark 'Lurks and such...it was hard to get around, but they were managing it through quick wit and gunfire. Fishspear had mostly kept to the shadows - because lord knows his pale skin stuck out here almost as much as the Nukalurks - while taking his shots. And when Michael opened that door...HI! It's a Hunter-level-Nukalurk! Only...a rapid succession of rifle shots blew its face in as soon as it turned around. Fishspear wasted no time. These critters smelled strange to him...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Naturally, one of the patrolman on the wall got word to Sheriff Simms about the new problem. He heard half of what was going on as he walked out through the doors, already looking annoyed by this situation. Lucy had vouged for thhis Frank character, but he did not need the rest of the Brotherhood causing a shitstorm because he decided to protect the folks here. It was his job, after all, and he could frankly use a few extra weapons if the Enclave come calling. The deputies wouldn't be enough if they got serious.

Simms: Take the underwear option, Marlon. By car with hands free for defense is the way to go.

He only said this half-joking, then turned to the BOS group.

Simms: The Brotherhood of Steel 'round here did alright in the past, helping deal with the Enclave and giving that Wanderer the chance to handle the water situation. Folks don't mind that you look after the water, so long as you're bein' reasonable. Getting involved in how I look after my townn, that's not so reasonable. If this boy was to do anything that's real trouble, I'd handle 'im myself, as that is my job as sheriff. The Brotherhood has a responsibility to broader things, such as the Duper Mutant you're hearin' about. You're welcome to examine the dead one if you think you've got any better conclusions about it. This man's stock will be held by Deputy Steel, and will continue to do so until he comes back for it.

This was how Simms was handling things there. Let's peek in on other folks, mkay? For one, Doc Church.

He seemed unaffected by any Jet problem. Wonder what happened... And now, Craterside...where Moira had been looking at Duper Mutant cells through a microscope...suddenly making a shocking discovery. She took out the Big Book of Science and sought an explanation on cell development.

Moira: These have been stimulated to produce different cells almost at random, like it was trying to force an extreme growth into something controlled through random experimentation!

Uh oh...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As Dr. Crawver and his recently-mended friend headed onwards, it seemed as though they were heading further into the capitol area right now. Thing is, though they did see mutants...they were actually keeping their distance. Except...it wasn't because of THEM that it happened. A quick perception check would reveal that uhh...there was still a weird red glow in the vicinity, heading relatively in this direction. Can't hardly say what it was, but it was certainly moving... It'd been around earlier too. So, here's the question, sports fans: Avoid or confront? Ah, but before you decide on that, here's another little tidbit. There was a distant mounting roar from behind a building.

Frank was conflicted.He didn't want to see his sister drool over her half-naked prisoner, but he did want to see the Cowardly Lion humiliated.Suddenly he picked up something on the radio he had installed in his armor. An encrypted Brotherhood transmission, but he had built in countermeasures for Brotherhood encryption, since he had helped develop those encryption codes in the first place."This is Paladin Stone to Citadel! Paladin Stone to Citadel! We have a Behemoth sighting in DC Ruins! Repeat, a new Behemoth has appeared!"Be right back!Frank ran into Craterside."Lucy, buy two stealth boys from Moira, stealth out the gate with Vikki, and head to Springvale. No time to explain!"Frank headed back out the main gate and began some inane small talk to serve as a distraction."So how's mum been? Speaking of mothers, yours is a whore Van Graff!"It went on like that for a bit."Oh and Van Graff?""Going to tell me my mom's a whore again? It's getting old."Frank ducked into the Van Graff's car and quickly hotwired it."No, I'm jacking your ride. Although now that you mention it; your mom is a whore!"Frank drove off towards Springvale.

"Lucy, buy two stealth boys from Moira, stealth out the gate with Vikki, and head to Springvale. No time to explain!" he dropped the other bag of loot by the door and he was gone as soon as he arrived.

Lucy, curious as she was, knew this was not the time for questions. Something serious must be happening if its got Frank in a rush.

She turned to Moira "I don't know what's going on, but can you spare two stealth boys, throw in another two to be safe." She eyed Vikki's SMG "Plus a few spare clips for a 10mm SMG and some stimpacks, I've got plenty to barter with"

Lucy traded the larger guns in the backpack, keeping only the 3 10mm SMG's. In return, she filled the duffel bag with 4 stealth boys, 10 clips for Vikki's gun and 5 stimpacks for her as well. She added Frank's flamer canisters which filled the bag. A little heavy, she handed it to Vikki, who held it with ease. Making sure Vikki noticed that Lucy bought the the ammo and remaining 5 stimpacks for her to keep. Lucy finally handed her a stealth boy of her own.

Lucy laid her Gauss Rifle across her back, slotted her own stimpacks into the 5 pouches on her belt, holstered her combat knife and dropped some ammo into her spare pouch. She strapped the stealth boy to her wrist, said her goodbye's and headed towards the main gate. Switching on the stealth boy, she silently slipped through the entrance with Vikki behind her.

She knew what Frank meant now. Brotherhood soldiers were tightly grouped around entrance.

Fighting her impulse to make a run for it, she calmed down and eased her way as far as she could from the group. These soldiers would surely kill her and Vikki. So she feared for her life.

She saw Frank drive off towards Springvale, lucky, he gets the fastest mode of transport. Traversing the terrain with ease while staying as quiet as possible, Lucy was going to sneak her way to Springvale as much as she could. She did not want to tangle with the Brotherhood.

She noticed the familiar dilapidated frames of the rebuilt housing in the distance. "Home sweet home" she thought. She could see her Dad's house, apparently some woman called Silver previously lived there.

She didn't want to go back, too many memories, she would rather wander the coast or do odd jobs at Megaton. Something was going on and Frank called upon her, even saved her ass by warning her about the Brotherhood. She'll get the answer's soon enough if Frank wants to regroup there.

After awhile, she reached the her small settlement and laid her hand on the nearby house. She spotted Frank and approached the car.

However fast Frank might have been when it came to hotwiring a car, he'd be pretty hard pressed to do so and make an escape without issue while Marlon was leaning against said car. Frank might have got it going and driven away sure enough. But not before Marlon had dived into the back seat.

Briefly managing to yell "We'll continue this later!" to Danielle, he turned his full and ill-content attention to Frank.

"Alright asshole this has gone far enough. I could go on about how you turned out to be a fraud or I could empty a few plasma shots into the back of your head, because believe you me, growing up out west with the more raider-like kind of brotherhood goons about, I know plenty about how to make that armor less than comfy. But I won't, cos here's why."

"First off, we need each other alive if we wanna stay in Simms' good books and have access to Megaton. Second, now I'm dealing with the REAL brotherhood, last thing I wanna do is get your sister to want me dead. Third, I'm sick of this horseshit, so why don't you tell me why the hell you suddenly need to get somewhere so fast, cos let's face it, you're pretty damn bad at driving this thing, but I'm impressed you got it running so fast. I'll have to do something about that."

He dropped the brief semi-jovial tone.

"Seriously, what's the deal Franky. I'm willing to help you out on 2 conditions. One, get off my damn back while I'm dealing with the people in charge, cos it turns out you weren't one of 'em. And two? Stop talking shit about my family. We got a deal?"

However fast Frank might have been when it came to hotwiring a car, he'd be pretty hard pressed to do so and make an escape without issue while Marlon was leaning against said car. Frank might have got it going and driven away sure enough. But not before Marlon had dived into the back seat.[Piloting (It was the skill for handling vehicles in Fallout: Tactics, so I'm importing it why not?) 21/30][Failure]Were Frank a good driver, he would have done something clever, like quickly swerve the car before he got the door closed, launching him out. Frank was not a good driver."Alright asshole this has gone far enough. I could go on about how you turned out to be a fraud or I could empty a few plasma shots into the back of your head, because believe you me, growing up out west with the more raider-like kind of brotherhood goons about, I know plenty about how to make that armor less than comfy. But I won't, cos here's why."[Armor 100/50 (It's not an official skill, but it should be one. Moving around in armor takes a lot of skill, not to mention knowing how to properly brace yourself for impacts)][Energy Weapons 80/30][Success!]"It would take at least five to nine plasma-bolts to my very armored head to off me, and one magnetic slug to your fleshy head to make it explode. Pick your next words carefully.""First off, we need each other alive if we wanna stay in Simms' good books and have access to Megaton. Second, now I'm dealing with the REAL brotherhood, last thing I wanna do is get your sister to want me dead. Third, I'm sick of this horseshit, so why don't you tell me why the hell you suddenly need to get somewhere so fast, cos let's face it, you're pretty damn bad at driving this thing, but I'm impressed you got it running so fast. I'll have to do something about that.""In the very unlikely event that you could somehow kill me, you wouldn't have to worry about Danny Boy or Simms, you'd have to worry about my ex. She called dibs on killing me after our breakup, and now runs the Brotherhood. She doesn't like it when people don't respect her dibsies.""I'm going to slay a Super Mutant Behemoth. One was spotted in DC, and since mutants are mutating more, it seems negligent to leave one of those alive to mutate further into something more deadly. As to how I got your car running..."[Repair 100/70][Success!] "...Let's just say I'm better than any redneck mechanics you'll encounter out west.""Seriously, what's the deal Franky. I'm willing to help you out on 2 conditions. One, get off my damn back while I'm dealing with the people in charge, cos it turns out you weren't one of 'em. And two? Stop talking shit about my family. We got a deal?""I can agree to number one, but..."[Perception]The Van Graff had neglected to buckle up.[Science 52/30][Success!]Frank had paid decent attention to the scribes' physics lectures. He was very heavy, and in the front of the car. The Van Graff was not so heavy and in the back.Frank crashed the car into a rock near Springvale, catapulting the Van Graff into the windshield."...Now I can agree to number two."Frank leaned out the window."Dorothy, Scarecrow; get in! The Cowardly Lion has joined in and we're going to Oz!"Frank toyed with the car's music player hoping to find something tolerable, and not the hillbilly jug-blowing he expected to find from someone from out west.

Frank crashed the car into a rock nearby catapulting the unknown laser dude guy into the windshield.

Lucy couldn't stop laughing at the sight,she knew that was intentional on Frank's part. relaxing greatly, she walked with Vikki over to the car and took the passenger seat next to Frank while Vikki climbed in the back.

Lucy knew very little about Frank, she only caught glimpses of his personality...He had a wild sense of humor in combat, he was resourceful, highly perceptive, empathetic towards those around him even if he lacked a certain level of tact. Absolutely brutal in combat, he preferred an up close and personal approach which was devastating if you added his knowledge of creature and human anatomy.

Lucy's great skills were Energy weapons, repair and speech. She had a knack for the keen perception and assessment of human behavior and agility during combat. Little to Frank's knowledge, she had been watching him, taking note of his mannerisms, noticing when and how they shifted, what they potentially indicated.

She was starting to grow fond of Frank, she had no idea what he looked like and she had so many questions, but he intrigued her. There was a purpose behind his fighting, she admired and shared a purpose in that.

She realized she was blushing, flustered, she helped the guy who recently smashed into the windshield, aiding him into the backseat. "You make a hell of an entrance, Frank!" she smiled widely, she was in a good mood around him for some reason. "Your flamer canisters are with Vikki. Since you saved my ass back there at Megaton...Thank you" she followed up with a small kiss on his helmet where his cheek would be, not ideal, but she got her message across. "The Brotherhood would have taken my rifle, you know how much it means to me."

She turned back to the laser guy "I'm the smaller, more polite, more female version of Frank. And I'm not one to steal other people's cars...or crash them for that matter" turning to Frank "Seriously, where did you learn to drive?"

Turning back to her energy weapon equipped acquaintance "Name's Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you" she extended her hand and gave him a large grin "The semi-mutant next to you is Vikki, she's sweet and deadly and she's also my friend"

Turning to Frank "Well, introductions have been made...now what the fuck is going on and where are we going!?"

Barry was nothing if not a fan of old world music and theatricallity. And Bob had both of these these in spades. Watching him launch out of the vehicle was immensely enjoyable. Not to be out done too badly, Flash attempted to beat him to the target. He leaped out of the cockpit reaching a similar height to FalloutBob under his own power. In Barry's imagination this was all the more epic. This tentacled mutant reached into the skys far above the skyscrapers. Barry's fists glowed a blindingly bright yellow. The light flowed behind him in massive but thin beams. But through the light he could clearly be seen rearing back his right hand about as far as he physically could. Out of the corner of his eye he could see FalloutBob with a sword easily twice as big as he was, soaked in an elegant and beautiful blue flame. The action that was actually happening was already so good that his imagination was able to create something better than it had ever made before. He took this in like a drug. Letting it seep into his lungs before flowing through his entire body. He let the sensation engulf him and time appeared to slow down to a near complete stop as he and Bob's weapons came within inches of the mutated beast simultaneously.

"Your flamer canisters are with Vikki. Since you saved my ass back there at Megaton...Thank you" she followed up with a small kiss on his helmet where his cheek would be, not ideal, but she got her message across.[Perception]Well this was certainly a development. "The Brotherhood would have taken my rifle, you know how much it means to me.""? What're you talking about? Did you grow up out west or something? Maybe you're thinking of the Outcasts? Or has Sarah gotten more militant towards wastelanders since becoming elder? Because under normal circumstances,the Brotherhood wouldn't take it unless they believed you stole it.""Seriously, where did you learn to drive?""This is my first time driving, but I'd seen enough people do it and am familiar enough with the workings of cars from fixing them up for the Brotherhood that I figured I could do it.""Now what the fuck is going on and where are we going!?""I've received reports of a behemoth in the Washington Mall. Those things are already pretty lethal, and with Super Mutants becoming Duper Mutants, I would rather a Behemoth not make that change and kill everyone, so I'm gonna kill it first!"

Brandon was listening to the strange mutant, he saw that Rex was busy gathering all of the items of value form the raiders. Brandon really wondered what kind of tricks his old master had learned to him. "Soitenly!" Brandon had no clue what the mutant was saying, he was speaking in a very odd tone. Brandon looked at the mutant, he had been impressed with his speed earlier. And he wondered how he was able to run that fast, maybe he was an special type of mutant?

"You guys know where the other mutants are at? I gotta tell those guys about this! He's a genius, I tell ya, a regular smarty-pants! Speaking of pants, yours don't fit anymore, do they?" Brandon looked heavily confused, he looked down at Rex, and then he looked back to the mutant. "No my pants suit me quite well to be honest. And you said their were other mutants? How many are there? And why are you able to run that fast? And why were those man chasing you? And do the other mutants also have an special skill?" Brandon looked at the mutant, he had asked his questions slowly so that the mutant had heard all of them.

He gave the mutant some time to think as he turned around to the supplies. Brandon grabbed the supplies that Rex had gathered and placed them in his bag, he petted Rex's nose and gave him a piece of meat "Good boy." Brandon smiled at Rex as he petted him some more. Brandon didn't looked at what they had looted, he would have time for that after he learned more about this mutant. Brandon looked back at the mutant, he was very interested in getting answers to his questions.

"What're you talking about? Did you grow up out west or something? Maybe you're thinking of the Outcasts? Or has Sarah gotten more militant towards wastelanders since becoming elder? Because under normal circumstances,the Brotherhood wouldn't take it unless they believed you stole it."

"Why did you think I got so antsy when we first met? Do you really think most Brotherhood soldiers will honestly believe my story about my rifle being a family heirloom? Especially it being a Gauss Rifle of all weapons?...Wastelanders and traders generally fear the Brotherhood, or more accurately, they fear the Outcasts. By the time you already made the distinction between a Brotherhood Knight or an Outcast, you're either dead or being attacked. I saw a trader getting robbed and vaporized just because he openly carried a laser pistol." Lucy explained, her tone dropping in audible sadness at the mention of the trader.

She liked traders, her Father was a trader.

"I've received reports of a behemoth in the Washington Mall. Those things are already pretty lethal, and with Super Mutants becoming Duper Mutants, I would rather a Behemoth not make that change and kill everyone, so I'm gonna kill it first!"

"A behemoth!? Holy shit, I've always wanted to see one...wait, the Duper Mutant we encountered at Megaton, what if something similar is happening with the behemoth? Did anything in the report say anything about mutations?"

Lucy stretched, cracked her knuckles and smiled at Frank...she wondered if he smiled back at her...feeling herself starting to blush, she opted to turn her gaze forward with a determined, but playful tone in her voice. "Since you're pretty much the Vanguard of this group, how about I be your long-range support and spotter?"

As Vikki sat beside their new friend, a man who didn't wish to speak with her and struggling to catch up with the conversation going on between Frank and Lucy, a thought suddenly worked its way through the rushing air noises in her mind.

"I've lost my bike!" she mumbles, louder than she meant to before catching the mention of the behemoth that they were hunting.

"Those things don't like me, they don't like anything but those metal things with holes in them and wheels? That and fire hydrants. Oh! And meat, they like eating people but I've saw one eating bits of a car! They make me look normal!" she pipes up, "my cousins used to keep rockets in case one of them showed up, do we have any rockets?" she asks, the thought slipping her mind almost as soon as it left her mouth, quickly being replaced by the rushing air noises, albeit not as nosily as before.

A mild string of explicit language after impacting the windshield later, and Marlon actually smiled. "Okay Franky. That was actually pretty funny. So we're in business."

Trying to avoid paying much attention to his recently acquired headache, he turned his attention to Lucy and Vikki. "Marlon Van Graff. I make my money dealing in energy weapons. In theory anyway. But you saw most o' that."

"Oh and Franky? One last thing. Once we get to this mall? I do the driving. I'd like my car to still be servicable after this little expedition."

"Since you're pretty much the Vanguard of this group, how about I be your long-range support and spotter?""I thought that was already our understanding, but certainly."Frank, while keeping one very un-steady hand on the steering wheel grabbed one of the flamer canisters, plugged it into the port on his suit's love-handles, and tossed it out the window."Those things don't like me, they don't like anything but those metal things with holes in them and wheels? That and fire hydrants. Oh! And meat, they like eating people but I've saw one eating bits of a car! They make me look normal!"Frank was always confused by the size of the Behemoth's fire-hydrant sticks. He had never seen hydrants that big elsewhere. It was almost as if the fire hydrants were scaled up with the mutants."Okay Franky. That was actually pretty funny. So we're in business." "You okay Simba? You don't look so good. Also; your face is injured.""If I can't call your mother various unkind things for being knocked up by ten separate guys, I'll just make fun of you.""Oh and Franky? One last thing. Once we get to this mall? I do the driving. I'd like my car to still be servicable after this little expedition.""Wait, this piece of crap was at one point serviceable? Was that before the war? You don't know where you're going, so I advise against you driving, but I promise to fix any damages I incur to your crap-mobile. I could make it stop sucking!"

"I thought that was already our understanding, but certainly.""I'm just making sure our combat priorities are in order...Sir!" Lucy stuck her tongue out at him with that last quip. She watched him refill the suit on his port "A thank you would be nice, Francesca" she smiled at that one

"I've lost my bike!"Lucy turned her attention towards her friend, she frowned as she pondering about the bike "I completely forgot about that. Did we leave it by those raiders or outside Megaton? I was a little busy killing raiders and shooting a Duper Mutant in the head to notice."

"What's a behemoth like,V? I've seen drawings and heard descriptions from traders, but I've never actually seen one."

"By the way, there's about 10 spare clips for your SMG and 5 stimpacks in the bag, consider it a present!" she beamed at Vikki

The behemoth sounded nasty going by her description, taking one down won't be an easy job. We're going to have to work together...she wouldn't want anything to happen to Vikki or Frank. She needed Marlon on their side too, so she decided to do what came naturally...be nice.

"You okay Simba? You don't look so good. Also; your face is injured.""We could call him Scar?" Noticing the eyepatch "I think you have that whole badass look about you, Marlon. You even have a twang to that voice of yours, girls out here love that sorta thing, or so I've- erm - heard...Thirsty?" she changed the subject and offered a bottle of Purified water.

"All this compensation going around is making me wonder if you guys have a little...engine trouble. Having a little difficulty getting it running in the first place? Can't go the distance? Or are the brakes broken and things go a little too fast for your liking? Perhaps it seems good on the outside, but once you pop the hood, you find out things aint exactly pretty down there?"

"A thank you would be nice, Francesca""Thank you, Lucious."Ugh, this was starting to remind him of his sister, and as much as he loved his sister, he hated her."All this compensation going around is making me wonder if you guys have a little...engine trouble. Having a little difficulty getting it running in the first place? Can't go the distance? Or are the brakes broken and things go a little too fast for your liking? Perhaps it seems good on the outside, but once you pop the hood, you find out things aint exactly pretty down there?""This isn't a man thing, it's a mechanic thing! I built better crap than this when I was 12 for the initiate's science fair."Frank remembered the railgun he had built for the fair. It took a team to wheel it in, it was bulky, consumed way too much power, the magnetic force of firing tore it apart, and it blew a hole in the wall of the citadel, and vaporized the entry that would have taken 2nd. Good times."I was considered a great mechanic by an organization where everyone's expected to love machines. This hunk of junk might cut it out west, but we have standards here! This piece of crap is held together by duct tape and wishes!"Frank was fuming. Maybe instead of fixing this scrap-heap, he could build a catapult to launch it into the ocean, and build something better to replace it.Frank had driven up to the Bethesda ruins.Many wastelanders had tried clearing a path through the rubble leading to the mall, but the project attracted countless super mutants who would attack anything going through. The Brotherhood cleared out the mutants but raiders moved in. Raiders who were smart enough to flee whenever a Brotherhood patrol came through, but still attack everyone else.Making it through unscathed was difficult. Even a fast moving vehicle would take some pretty fancy driving and some luck to make it through unscathed.[Piloting 21/40][Failure.]Frank had no plans for this vehicle to make it through unscathed."This is going to take some pretty fancy driving!"Franks driving was not fancy at all.

"Cheers." Marlon accepted the water and took a mouthful of it. Lucy seemed pretty alright. At least in comparison to the fellow in the armor. "You see Franky? You could learn from this one. She's much better at making friends than you are."

Contrary to what Frank continued to insist, the car was quite mechanically sound. He might not have all the tools that the brotherhood had at their disposal, but having grown up assembling energy weapons and tinkering with other scavenged machinery in general had given Marlon a solid background in making something like this run and run well. Certainly it could use some improvements and maybe a good clean, but it had gotten him all the way here from the west.

But that wasn't what was getting on his nerves. He expected that from Frank. What was getting on his nerves was the horrible sounds Frank was producing with it. "You know, it works much better if you actually know how to put it in gear. Just stop and tell me where to drive already, you're gonna bugger something before we even get there."

Explosions and gunfire sounded all around the vehicle."You see Franky? You could learn from this one. She's much better at making friends than you are.""Making friends is easy; demonstrate your skills in repairs and combat then..."Frank could feel the concentrated awkward coming from that statement."...I think I've been messed up from growing up in a militant techno-cult.""You know, it works much better if you actually know how to put it in gear. Just stop and tell me where to drive already, you're gonna bugger something before we even get there."[Piloting 21/25][Failure.] Frank did not know how to drive stick, unless that was a kinky metaphor."This is the only path into DC that's accessible by car, and it's thick raider country all the way there. Stop for the minimum of three seconds it takes for us to switch, and we'd be buried under a hail of lead, grenades, and harsh language. I don't suppose you can work the gear shift while I continue to drive?"[Perception][Repair 100/30][Success!]Frank couldn't help but notice that the front-mounted laser rifles were spaced so that you could not shoot a man-sized target standing between them. An amateur job. Had he built it, he would have installed motors and a sensor module enabling them to track their target and vaporize it.

Through the hazy of pain blaring from not only his arm but now from his leg. Dim light filtered down to pool in the center of the area. Waiting patiently his eyes began to adjust and he was able to make out large tunnel walls. Down the tunnel were an assortment of off-shooting doors but what interested him was the slight glimmer of light down the path. Eventually managing a slow ambling crawl it became clear that the glimmer was being given off by something large and metal hidden behind quite a pile of rubble. Hearing deep rumbling and sounds of combat he wondered if the town didn't have inhabitants after all. Inhabitants now being picked off in his place. It was a terrible thought but there wasn't exactly a lot someone like him could do about it right now, what with the bleeding out and broken limbs...Gingerly scraping the small pile of rocks from the rough steel surface revealed a large torso and suit with a helmet not far off. Inspecting these with a disconnected curiosity he remembered the way in which the beetles had been able to recuperate from his assault earlier. With some difficulty he managed to jam himself into the metal shell. Wondering how to activate such a function he went to raise his good arm to the visor but was taken aback by the unbelievable resistance. Letting it drop back he gave up supposing it was as good a place as anything to rest, it wasn't uncomfortable in any case. Just as his eyes began to droop a strange voice came to him. 'What in the hell have you gotten yourself into this time your half as red as anchorage! I'll tell you what you're lucky its just you and me down here because if you're sergeant saw you in this pathetic state he'd send you back home to cower as the damn Chinese rain death at your door, hell I would to! Unfortunately I ain't your sergeant I am the Prototype Medic armour and if you can't do your job I sure as hell have to do mine. Now man up this'll hurt a lot but maybe that's exactly what you need'as he finished the suit started whirring and buzzing and before Sully could react needles erupted from the armour's sides plunging deep into his limbs. Needless to say he was feeling better in no time. 'Thank you... soldier?' he offered taking the armour of again completely vexed as to how one would use it. Keeping the gloves, boots and helmet, as they were only slightly impeding on his movement he continued down the increasingly dark tunnel. With his head clear of the begging cries from his muscles he now became concerned about things he had otherwise been dismissing. Where was the chameleon and more importantly what was he fighting. He needed to mount a counter-assault because if nothing else was clear it was that these enclave men had nothing if not boundless resources and and if FalloutDavid was nay indication enough time to follow some whimsical grudge. The tunnel began to smell putrid a smell that Sully knew all to well. Dead Deathclaw. Inspecting the corpse which was now flopped to one side of the tunnel he hefted up one its large paws and smiled. Things were finally going his way.

"uh...Editor's Journal, volume one; have decided to switch to audio logs for the journal, in the interest of creating more reliable retrospective information, maybe I'm trying to encourage a proustian rush when I'm goin' back over these, I don't know."

*mooouuuuuu clink clink*

"We're uh three or four days out from Canterbury, we've managed to rejoin I-95, although...we don't have a compass or a map between us, can't determine if we're facing north or south, or uh anywhere else for that matter; although as for now we're camping in a wide ditch at the edge of the road."

*whsssssss clink clink*

"Still travelling with the Walrus and his Brahmin, Abe has some business in mind with the creature, but even after hours - of course, despite lacking food, water and caps, we're overburdened with time - hours of speculation, I still can't fathom what kind of business this could be."

*"Wellp, over yonder, follow m' finger, that's where Paw catched uh crawdad THIS big, n' bigger'n that still; it's cuz a th'saucers, they come over in th'clouds, y'see? Then, they zp zzzzp zoop dem crawdads, so's they can act as th'first wave o' the invasion! Well we boiled that sucker up and wudja b'lieve it? Pot boil up colour o...well it weren't a colour so much, it were like...a sound, y'unnerstand?""uhm...yes...a sound, yes..."*

"Like I said, we're low on supplies, haven't even come across one of those roving caravans, stay off the roads, that's what they say, s'even in the WSG; even if we found a body we're not above looting, no room for principles here; we need to get to DC, that's the only place where we're definitely going to find something, we won't even need a compass, I can still see the Washington monument from here; well, not from here..."

*shhhhhsch "...maybe if I just..." crunch crunch crunch "...climb up this mound here I can..."*

"...huff...huff...Yes. Yes, can still...huh, what's that glow over there?"

"Behemoths are like building sized versions of my cousins!" Vikki exclaims gleefully, "and probably more violent than deathclaws, which is saying something."

"They're really not nice to deal with, hopefully we can scavenge something good," she sighs, hearing Marlon's comment about no rockets, "four of us should be enough though?" she questions herself more than anyone else in the car.

"Ooh! Thanks Lucy!" she beams upon opening the bag containing the ammo and stimpaks that she had been given, "I never got you anything!" she whines, upset she didn't have the forethought of her friend.

William found himself on the road to the Citadel, Dudley riding by his side, their respective engines little more than the growl of a sleeping Yao-Guai as they slowly picked their route over the smoothest parts of the road and taking care to avoid the twisted heaps of metal that had once been cars. They had travelled north to the bridge over the Potomac, once the site of a fierce battle between the Brotherhood and the Enclave. It was most memorable for being the bridge Liberty Prime crossed on his way to Project Purity.

Looking up, William could see the large crane rising above the Citadel, remembering that it had once been used to place Liberty Prime right into battle. The ground was still scarred in some places by the burn of energy weapons.

As they kept riding, the Citadel got closer into view. Brotherhood patrols could be seen much more frequently as they got closer to the great entrance to the Citadel. William and Dudley stopped and dismounted, William approached the gate guard and chose his words:, "Greetings Paladin, my friend and I need entry to speak with your leaders. Our mission is important, it concerns the Enclave." William put extra emphasis on the last word to sway the Paladin to his side.

Well well well...what DO we have here? It seems that Sully was rescued by a man in a medical power-armor, which appears to have been through alot of shit by a sort of gabby Anchorage medic, probably a bit on the aged side. Well, a'no matters, for now. Welcome to the underside of this burnt-out old Deathclaw-infested burgh. The man identified himself as the former Private Yobson, current only resident of Old Onley, a fact which he communicated to the underside of his domicile, which was uhh...wow, lots of Deathclaw parts and decorations, man.

Yobson: Well, I SAY that I'm the only resident, apart from the DCs of course, but that ain't completely true. It weren't me who found you out, but Shifty.

When he pointed, he indicated a man who was actually RIGHT BEHIND Sully all of a sudden, taking measurements of his body. Creepy vibe! Pale fellow dressed in black? Dude, this guy was an undertaker! Yobson waved a hand at him.

Yobson: Shifty, I told you I'd handle 'im, so cut with the measurements. He ain't gonna die! *Sigh* Sorry 'about that, fella. Man came in on a bicycle one day, been waitin' for me to day or somethin'. But with these trophies? It ain't gonna happen. Y'all had better just find your way out of these parts all safe-like and away from the damn DCs.

Shifty seemed like an odd one, and unnerving that he seemed to have been expecting one of them to die. Highly possible in this area. Speaking OF this area, let's look up on David... Ah, he's up on a rubble building - having reached it via grappling hook - and sniping Deathclaws. He has NO idea where Sully went and maybe, just maybe, he's too occupied to think about the underground. Also, there was totally a small-scale Liberty Prime robot thingy leaping at him from above and behind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"No my pants suit me quite well to be honest. And you said their were other mutants? How many are there? And why are you able to run that fast? And why were those man chasing you? And do the other mutants also have an special skill?"

"Well, I'll tell you, Judgey-wudgey... I don't KNOW how many there are. There could've been more coming when I left, or on the other hand some could've dropped out while I'm not lookin'. As for me, I went and saw the Doc and he worked me over these new fancy legs here, nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

It was at that point that this mutant's speech patterns suddenly slooowwweeed doooowwwwnnn...

While he was talking, he began to get all twitchy. A third eye grew in his forehead, a bloating happened in his torso, and some more limbs started to grow out of his body! At this point, he finished the rest of his answers in Spanish, followed by an unexpected laugh! At which point, he was now a large Centaur, as in the deformed crawling toxin-spitting creature...looking for a meal and finding REX to be most suitable.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A dynamic duo or a madness in the making? Bob and Barry slammed down on the tendril bastard and made the hits GOOD. Bob was suddenly on fire as the monstrous mutant grabbed for him, causing the freak alot of searing pain. It began to focus most of its aggression on HIM, especially since he was now going around the semi-shapeless mutant mass with his sword, shouting...

Bob: BWAH-BWAH-BWAH-BWAH-BWAAAH!!!

Unfortunately, the thing started launching...yech! Eel-like parasites were falling all over the place! Electrified? No, but they were biting and disgusting! They're like...did you ever see or read Stephen King's Dreamcatcher? The aliens? Kind of like that. Looong story if you didn't get into it, but fortunately not important.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

William and Dudley made their way over to the Citadel, where there were - of course - guards, robots, and a big shut door waiting for him. He attempted to swing favor in his direction by mentioning that he was on an important mission over the Enclave. The guard was about to talk when he got a message from inside and started moving aside as the door opened.

BoS Soldier: Out of the way, you two! We have an emergency!

The soldiers from inside headed out and in a hurry. They appeared to be heading more or less in the Washington Monument area. The guard was now having a further radio conversation in which finally...

Guard: Okay, you can go in, but don't waste her time. Shit's hittin' the fan right now.

To which, they would go in to find another suit escorting them to the control room area, where Sarah Lyons is shouting orders likea Post Apocalyptic Captain Janeway. The crux of the hubbub appeared to be that they were fixed on the problem of the 'Duper Mutants' , an apparent Behemoth located nearby, and also a transmission over GNR, jamming out Three Dog. While that was going on, she turned to Dudley and William.

Sarah: Make it quick. You said Enclave and somehow I think any help with this would be appreciated.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oh, you're probably wondering about that transmission. Well, it all started during one of Three Dog's broadcasts.

"Welcome back, children, and hold onto your butts for this one. It seems that a new Super Mutant Behemoth grew up right in the DC area, all on its own, just like THAT! Sounds to me like a connection to those so-called 'Duper Mutants'. Keep an eye out for strange-acting super mutants. They ain't ALL bad, but the ones that're acting weird? They seem like the type. And another thing-"

BZZZZZZZZZZZWWWOOOOYYYYRRRRRRRR...!!! The transmission was suddenly overwhelmed by a stronger signal as somebody else cut in!

"Oh yes! Yes yes YES, you are correct GNR-man! I am afraid the wasteland is in for a bad week, to say nothing of months and years to come! Hello, Enclave! I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING!! You and everyone else are gonna pay for trying to coop me and my GENIUS up for your own deeds, getting into my head with your ballpoint pens! WELL, NO LONGER!! I have isolated the gene and the FEV trigger that creates Behemoth mutants, and that one in DC is only the beginning! Soon I, Dr. Donald Q. Bastion, will be the ruler of the wastes as humanity becomes HUGE-MANITY! Enjoy your easy carefree days...for they are numbered!"

Now, you see why the Brotherhood is in an uproar. A man has learned to make Behemoths? BAD DAY!

Oh, and everybody heard this near some sort of radio in car, in helmet, on Pip-Boy, regular random radios, etc.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Meanwhile, back more in the Kentucky area, they have these mutated horses, dangerously-violent things with spikes growing out of 'em called 'Nightmares', after the legendary demon-horse beast. These were irradiated horse mutants, basically. They were also prone to going wild when things got out of hand. Like what? Like that rhythmic pounding as something clomped-clomped-clomped steadily across the ground. It made them a bit keen to stampede, an effect that would eventually reach the Capital Wastelands. Let's just say that things were gonna get interesting around here...

The Behemoth had gotten very unruly after having grown up from an ordinary mutant now. After declaring that it was mighty, it had gotten to stomping around to test out its new body, in which is stubbed its toe on a crumbling building. After growling at it...

"STUPID BUILDING!! I'MMA GONNA CRUSH YOU WITH MAH PELVIC THRUST!!"

And it did just that! Stones flew everywhere and there was some chaos from somewhere nearby as Dr. Crawver's brahmin, Udders, lost its cool in the face of rocks flying everywhere...and now the man, the walrus, and the Brahmin had this big monstrous thing coming in...as well as three humans and a semi-mutant coming in a car. Also, there was a team of BoS coming in as well as the Behemoth notied and he...started tossing bits of building around! The reason Udders' name was shouted? Because a chunk was going right for it when...FSSSSSHHH!!

"Nice...cow-thing..."

The Brahmin had been stopped by a red-glowing ghoul, taking the reigns and...firing a blast of destructive radiation at the rock, melting it before it could touch the animal.

With the job finally wrapped up, Cassie was free to get to get rolling back to her contractor with proof of her kill. Now it was just a matter of getting out of D.C. alive and back to the West Virginia colony.

After exiting the building that she nearly got totaled, she strolled down the street to meet with her best friend. A Yao Guai she effectionately calls Rodrick. She packed the extra ammunition she picked up off the bodies of the dead and hopped up onto Rodrick's back.

She had to grab hold of her hat as the beast began bounding towards the west. A good 15 minutes and Cassie encountered notinh out of the ordinary. She could only hope she would get past Falls Church without any incident. Though if the random super mutant showed her anything, its that things like this rarely ever go as planed.

Frank picked up a radio 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

[Science 52/40][Success!]Even if he could make them start growing, it would still take time for them to grow. Frank would just have to up his kill-rate.[Perception]The Behemoth was in view, but there was something else... A red glow? He'd have to burn that bridge after he crossed it."Ugh! That is one ugly mother-fucker!"[Tactics 50/40](It's not a skill in any Fallout game, but it should be!)[Success!]The situation seemed to support Frank's original plan."Everybody out! Start providing cover-fire!"I'm gonna' shove this car up its ass!"

Rex yelped and leaped to the side. The mutant turned, right in time to catch Rex's angry claws across its face. It spat angrily, and Rex caught the acid directly in his face.

It missed his eyes, but it still burned like hell. Rex roared furiously and leaped on top of the mutant's head. The mutant's head smashed straight down into the ground, and he rose right in time to see the dog pawing one of the raiders' pistols.

She turned to Vikki straight after the broadcast "How crazy was that Doc you mentioned before?" Lucy would've continued the conversation, but the ride was bumpy and she could see what was unmistakably a behemoth up ahead thrashing a building apart.

"Ugh! That is one ugly mother-fucker!"

Lucy didn't comment, her attention was caught by faint crimson glow near the behemoth. Her thoughts were interrupted by Frank.

Seemed like a good idea to Lucy, the car could be used as a great explosive device and improvised battering ram.

Lucy climbed out the window, pulling her Gauss Rifle off her back and spoke to Frank quickly "I'm going to move from building to building and lend long-range support" She looked around, quickly analyzing the environment for a few good spots to set up a sniping perch and to move from cover to cover.

"This car can be used as an improvised explosive, position is right and I'll take a few shots to set it off...Just give me a signal somehow" Lucy knew this was no time for games, any of them could easily get killed by this thing.

She turned to Vikki "V, I'm going to need a spotter, help me pick out target area's and keep me informed about the combat environment. You should know the anatomy of a behemoth quite well. I'll do what I can from range while Frank gets up close"

She turned to Marlon finally "I'm already sorry about what's going to happen to your car, it's a sweet ride, for what it's worth" she knew Frank had short-term plans for the car "If you need me, don't hesitate. I don't leave friends hanging" she gave him a smile.

Lucy started to run on ahead, entering a nearby building. Most of the buildings here were damaged and had clear chunks removed from them...Most people would see a bunch of ruins, Lucy saw an intricately connected pathway between each derelict structure and building. Perfect hiding spots, many positions, temporary cover and she could move from structure to structure with ease.

After making a little distance between Frank and a new angle on the behemoth, she set up shop on a second story window. She trained her sights on the behemoth's ugly head and prepared to synchronize her high-powered shot with the impact of the car. "Vikki, where's the best area on the head to hit? temple, eyes, forehead? I need an answer before the car hits it"

She tried to keep her breathing and aim steady, keeping note of the car's position